Tara Winfield's (tarawinfield) Blog

1.  First closing of 2010... Drum-roll, please....Seth and Kirsten, recently married, bought their first house!  Had to have a garage and a gas stove.... the rest of the house - they were pretty flexible about.  Seth serenaded most of our home tours (once the garage and gas stove were inspected)....

Happy, Happy New Year! It's almost time for my "Year in Review" blog posts where all my clients from 2010 will get their 15 minutes of fame; but first I wanted to reflect on my goals for 2010. My sales goal for 2010 (which I set for myself about this time last year) was $3,360,000 My actual sales...

Change of pace this year for our extended family Christmas... on my mom's side.  The past few years, we've all bought a $20 gift card and small, accompanying gift.  For example, if you bring a Starbucks card, you could wrap it in a coffee mug.  Movie theater gift certificates frequently get paire...

Happy, happy holidays.  Big news of the season.... we moved the tree to the corner of the room this year!  (As opposed to last year when it was in the middle of the bay window.  - See pictures in my "Christmas Decorating (Inside) and a Good Book" post from last November.) So, decorating is done, ...

HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE!!!   Two Opportunities to Tour this Move-In Ready 3BR, 3BA Home. Sunday, December 12th from 1-4pm and Tuesday, December 14th from 5-7pm Refreshments will be provided. *** 140 Falcon Drive in Highland, Illinois *** Hope to See you there! Check out my latest video promoting this ...

We all know staging is important, but did you remember to stage your CLOSET???  You heard me right - stage your closet, and your drawers and cabinets while you're at it....  Buyers want storage - and lots of it!  Rarely does a buyer want to downsize their closet space, attic space, basement area,...

As promised, I am entertaining every possible marketing forum for my sellers...  Matt was working in Denver, CO last week.  It just so happens that two of his aunts live near Denver - and one of his mom's favorite spots up in the mountains is just a few minutes drive (and then an hour hike) from ...

Today is the beginning of Coldwell Banker Brown Realtors' annual 10-Day Sales Event.  Participating homeowners have temporarily reduced their asking prices by 5-10%.  AND - now that the sale has begun - I can tell you which FOUR of my listings are participating: 3 Canna Drive in Collinsville 740 ...

7am:   Got out of bed to turn the heat on.  Reset alarm for 7:15am. 7:15am:   Sprung out of bed (literally) into warm(ing) air, grabbed my iced coffee out of the fridge, and sat at the kitchen counter to finish the CMA I started last night. 7:50am:   Showered, dressed, blow-dried, straightened, m...

About a month ago, Matt and I bought a Flip video camera.  I recorded the receipt as a business expense; so it is my duty to use the thing for something real estate related.  (It probably needed to be used for business purposes before the end of the fiscal year, too, to avoid fraudulent reporting...